The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter 747 Persuasion

"Commander Fang is probably not qualified to say that," Mo Bai said, staring at Fang Youqun. "I heard that before His Majesty ascended the throne, he ordered Commander Fang to voluntarily withdraw his troops from northern Jiangsu. The imperial order had been given, but Commander Fang refused to comply. Is that not within his duty?"

Fang Youqun remained calm and said indifferently, "Firstly, His Majesty had not yet ascended the throne at that time, nor had he explicitly ordered the withdrawal of troops. Secondly, hasn't Your Highness heard the saying that a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders?"

"I won't argue with you. I brought this up only to make you understand that it's your right to disobey orders. I've done so much, and it's never been for personal gain." Mo Bai didn't argue with him either.

Upon hearing this, Fang Youqun's lips twitched, but he ultimately had no choice but to shut up.

As Mo Bai said, he is now a criminal himself, so what right does he have to criticize others?

"Now that Your Highness has arrived, I will accompany you back to the capital," Fang Youqun said.

Mo Bai smiled: "Commander, shouldn't you make some arrangements in the army before you leave?"

"No need, the new commander will make the arrangements." Fang Youqun shook his head.

It's clear that Fang Youqun had long been prepared to be questioned, and the military must have made arrangements in advance.

"Are you really willing to leave like this?" Mo Bai asked again without getting up.

Fang Youqun turned to look at the cave entrance: "As the saying goes, military law is as solid as a mountain. If there is no law in the army, chaos will ensue. I withdrew my troops without authorization, abandoning territory and land. This is an unforgivable crime for a general. Only execution can uphold military law and appease public anger."

Upon hearing this, Mo Bai slowly rose from his chair, stood beside him, and looked outside. "The nation is in dire straits, and war is fraught with danger. If you were to relinquish your position now, wouldn't that be betraying the late emperor's trust?"

Fang Youqun simply sighed, "We are forced by circumstances; what can we do?"

Mo Bai said, "You should know that I have always attached great importance to the matter of fighting against the barbarians. Therefore, I am always willing to do anything that can make the Qi barbarians unhappy."

"What does Your Highness mean?" Fang Youqun frowned and looked at Mo Bai.

Mo Bai turned to meet his gaze: "Since the Qi Barbarians are so eager to kill you, how can I let them succeed?"

Fang Youqun's brows furrowed even deeper: "Your Highness, this is no laughing matter. As I just said, the army must not be allowed to break the law. We absolutely cannot allow the army to descend into chaos because of me alone. If the crime of losing territory is not severely punished, how can we maintain the army's prestige?"

"Losing territory and abandoning land naturally warrants killing," Mo Bai interrupted him. "But are you cowardly?"

Fang Youqun fell silent.

"If that's not the case, then why be so dejected?" Mo Bai said in a deep voice, "You're only thinking about how chaos will ensue if you're not dealt with. Have you ever considered that if we really kill you unjustly, it will not only please the enemy, but also chill the hearts of our generals and commanders?"

"When faced with two evils, choose the lesser one..." Fang Youqun wanted to say more.

"Stop!" Mo Bai interrupted directly, "It seems we've got it backwards. I should be the one trying to prove you guilty, while you're trying to defend yourself."

"Your Highness's kindness is appreciated, but I was prepared to bear all the consequences the moment the order was given," Fang Youqun said firmly.

"As I just said, I didn't want to save you. It's just that the situation is dangerous right now, and you still have value to the country. To die unjustly like this would be a tragedy for your loved ones and a joy for your enemies," Mo Bai said, shaking his head.

Fang Youqun sighed deeply: "I have been deeply indebted to the late Emperor, and I will never fail him in this life. Your Highness need not waste your time on me. I have spent my life on the battlefield and have long since become indifferent to life and death."

"Heh." Mo Bai understood: "You think I'm trying to win you over for future purposes, and that's why I want to protect you?"

Fang Youqun looked at Mo Bai quietly for a long while before saying, "Now that things have come to this, my days are numbered. Back then, Your Highness sent people from the Daoist sect, and even Your Excellency personally came to serve in the army. Regardless of Your Highness's intentions, I should indeed thank Your Highness."

"If I said that these are all just considerations for resisting the barbarians, Commander Fang probably wouldn't believe me," Mo Bai said in a deep voice.

Fang Youqun remained noncommittal: "Regardless, it was precisely because of Your Highness's arrangements that the military commanders were spared the danger of assassination and were able to fight the Qiman tribes with full force. However, if Your Highness truly has other intentions, I'm afraid I cannot grant Your Highness's wishes."

"It's ironic. To be honest, I really don't understand why your Fang Youqun's withdrawal without orders is considered selfless, while whatever I do is seen as having ulterior motives. Just because I have the identity of the Ming King, does that mean I can't simply be fighting against the barbarians?" Mo Bai retorted.

"Then Your Highness, did you really have no other intentions in everything you did? Putting aside the distant past, just look at His Majesty's enthronement ceremony, where Your Highness had His Majesty's authority completely undermined upon ascending the throne. Was that also for the sake of resisting the barbarians?" Fang Youqun finally couldn't help but speak out.

"What is there to be afraid of?" Mo Bai's gaze did not waver in the slightest. "Yes, I admit everything you said. His Majesty's dignity has been tarnished because of me. But I did not instigate any of this. If I don't let his dignity be tarnished, I will lose my head."

Fang Youqun was about to speak immediately.

Mo Bai raised his hand directly: "I know you're going to talk about the relationship between ruler and subject, but you also need to understand, I can die easily, but after I die, is His Majesty capable of cleaning up the mess? Putting everything else aside, just consider the Daoist sects, once I'm gone, will they listen to the dynasty? And as for the warlords, without a troublemaker like me standing in their way, will the dynasty be polite to His Majesty?"

"I'm not afraid to speak frankly, it's not that I look down on the Ninth Prince, but with his current temperament, he's not capable of handling a chaotic world. Believe it or not, I never intended to compete with him for anything, and in fact, I can't compete with him anyway. Everyone knows that in the current environment, I have no chance of ascending to the throne. The Manchus and warlords see me as a major threat, and they will not allow me to take the throne."

"Among the civil and military officials in the court, whether they are in the capital or in the local areas, including even you, Fang Youqun, who among you wants to see an emperor like me who dares to kill?"

"So I accept that the late emperor didn't choose me. I know my own limitations. But the problem is that everyone can see the truth, but the Ninth Prince can't. He insists on comparing himself to me and thinks I'm his biggest threat."

"I dealt with Dao Men, and he thought I was preparing to deal with him."

"He ordered you to withdraw your troops, but you refused. His first reaction wasn't to blame you, but to suspect that you were one of my men, that I was the one who told you not to withdraw, and that you were deliberately going against him."

"In our united resistance against the barbarians, I took a hard line against the warlords. Before they even made a fuss, the Ninth Prince started to suspect that I was deliberately provoking them so that they would lose their throne."

"In short, whenever I do anything, he will think that I am trying to get back at him. You could say that even if I do nothing and stay in the Ming Prince's mansion all day without coming out, he will still think that I am biding my time and will still try his best to deal with me."

"Actually, this is not surprising. There have been too many princes in my position throughout history. To be honest, I am not a person with great ambitions. Medicine and martial arts are enough for me to strive for in my life. In fact, if it were just warlords causing trouble, even if it really came to the point of changing dynasties, I would probably just sit and watch."

"My cultivation of the Dao and the changing of the world are inevitable trends. If the Mohists lose their virtue and their kingdom, a worthy person will rise to power and restore order. The people will simply have a new emperor and continue their lives. But if foreign enemies invade and the Mohists lose their kingdom, the people will become slaves of a conquered nation..."

Mo Bai stopped there.

Fang Youqun went from wanting to refute at first to remaining silent in the end.

The two remained silent for a long time before Mo Bai turned his head and said, "Everything I'm doing now is truly not for the sake of seizing that throne. My conflict with Lao Jiu is out of necessity. If he's incapable, I can only suppress him and step forward myself. I dare not say I'm much stronger than him, but at the very least, I'm not afraid of the barbarians, I'm not afraid of warlords. In this chaotic world, I dare to fight, dare to risk my life."

Fang Youqun remained silent. Mo Bai turned and sat back in his chair: "I'll stop here. I'm going to protect your life, without any conditions. If I had to say there is one, it would be this: as long as you're still in power, you'll help me fight for the enemy, fight them hard. If you still insist that I have designs on you and insist on not accepting my favors, then I'll grant your wish."

Fang Youqun remained staring outside, motionless.

However, Mo Bai breathed a sigh of relief, at least he was no longer as resolute as before, giving Mo Bai no chance to persuade him.

After a while, Fang Youqun's voice came: "I have two questions that have been on my mind and I would like to ask Your Highness."

"Go ahead," Mo Bai said frankly.

"Firstly, I had a personal guard by my side back then named Wu Shoucheng. I wonder if Your Highness knows him?" Fang Youqun said with his back to Mo Bai.

Mo Bai paused slightly, then hesitated before saying, "I recognize the person you're talking about, but I'm not familiar with him. He wasn't an inside agent planted by the Ming Prince's Mansion to be by your side. It was a coincidence. He has a younger brother who is one of the Ming Prince's Mansion's Black-Clad Guards, and you later contacted him through his brother."

"Really?" Fang Youqun was clearly very sensitive about this matter.

Mo Bai also knew his concerns. If Wu Shoucheng was an inside agent placed by the Ming Prince's Mansion, it meant that the Ming Prince's Mansion had long been preparing to plan something big. If Fang Youqun had an inside agent from the Ming Prince's Mansion by his side, what about the other officials and generals?

"That's absolutely true. The reason I don't know much about it is because I haven't personally been involved in Wu Shoucheng's affairs," Mo Bai said in a deep voice.

"Alright, there's one more thing." At this point, Fang Youqun turned around and asked, "Has Huaming Prefecture submitted to you?"

Mo Bai was taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly replied, "No."

"Hua Mingfu has been meeting with Du Juan privately frequently recently. Is Your Highness unaware of this?" Fang Youqun's gaze sharpened.

"Of course I know about this. I personally instructed Mr. Du to do it. However, Commander Fang has probably misunderstood. The reason I had Mr. Du contact Huaming Prefecture was to find a way to protect you," Mo Bai said slowly, but in his heart he was glad that he hadn't listened to Du Juan's risky move.

It was obvious that Fang Youqun had already discovered that Huaming Prefecture was in contact with the Ming Prince's Mansion. If Huaming Prefecture made any unusual moves, it would probably be taken down immediately.

Mo Bai said in a deep voice, "Hua Mingfu contacted Du Juan hoping that the Ming Prince's Mansion could speak up for the Commander-in-Chief. If we can protect the Commander-in-Chief, he promised to help us persuade him to join the Ming Prince's Mansion. Clearly, he also believes that our Ming Prince's Mansion wants to win over the Commander-in-Chief."

Hearing this, Fang Youqun remained expressionless, but inwardly he felt relieved. He had never believed that Hua Mingfu would betray him.

He didn't completely believe the King's explanation, but he believed most of it. He knew that this was something Hua Mingfu was capable of doing.

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